Within the digital age, being current on social media is now not simply an enhancement of medical observe, it is turn into an important strategy to construct bridges and set up belief with sufferers, to community with colleagues, and to dispel misinformation on-line.
“Merely put, the times of the Yellow Pages and the Rolodex are behind us…as sufferers more and more flip to the web for details about their well being and who they choose as their supplier,” writes Austin L. Chiang, MD, MPH, in an article published online in Medical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Chiang, who’s with the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson College Hospitals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serves as president of the nonprofit Association of Healthcare Social Media (AHSM). Chiang and his colleagues co-founded AHSM in 2019 after an internet dialog with “web pals” made it abundantly clear that healthcare professionals had been more and more utilizing social media platforms to market their practices, present illness consciousness messages, and develop medical schooling. AHSM now boasts greater than 730 members.
But, the reality is that physicians nonetheless lack formal coaching in advertising, communications, and public relations abilities, Chiang factors out, and managing a social media presence could be a full-time job.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Well-liked Platforms
“In a panorama the place a number of advanced social media platforms exist, it could appear formidable to navigate the completely different, various platforms,” Chiang writes.
For gastrointestinal (GI) practices embarking on a social media presence, Chiang critiques the strengths and weaknesses of essentially the most extensively used platforms ― Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Fb, and LinkedIn.
Twitter is essentially a text-based microblogging platform that is simple to make use of and has an current group of gastroenterologists. Nonetheless, as a result of tweets are fleeting and are restricted to 240 characters every, it might not be the most effective for rising a GI observe by means of in-depth conversations or prolonged explanations geared toward most people.
Instagram (a sister utility of Fb) is primarily a photo- and caption-based platform, though it lately switched to a video-based technique, which has compelled customers to adapt. Instagram is “more and more convoluted,” Chiang notes.
Fb is beneficial for advertising a GI observe with a enterprise web page and speaking instantly with sufferers, however it too is a “extremely convoluted” platform with an unfavorable public opinion.
YouTube is an internet video-sharing platform and is the most effective for long-form video explanations or public schooling, however it’s time consuming and requires abilities in filming and modifying.
TikTok is a short-form video-based social platform and is the fastest-growing main platform, however it requires one to be snug showing on digicam and to have story telling means.
LinkedIn is a business- and employment-focused social networking platform. It is best for recruiting employees and showcasing credentials {and professional} achievements.
The place to Begin?
For gastroenterologists eager about establishing a social media presence, Sophie Balzora, MD (@SophieBalzoraMD), a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Well being in New York Metropolis, suggests the book, Establishing, Managing, and Defending Your On-line Fame: A Social Media Information for Physicians and Medical Practices, written by Kevin Pho, MD, and Susan Homosexual.
It is a useful useful resource for individuals who wish to enter the foray of social media professionally however do not know the place to start or find out how to get began safely and thoughtfully, Balzora informed Medscape Medical Information.
In her expertise, there are various advantages to creating knowledgeable social media account, “each because it pertains to sufferers and because it pertains to establishing connections and relationships with present and future colleagues that you’d in any other case by no means meet or collaborate with inside the limits of your educational area or community.
“Social media means that you can go the place your sufferers are, perceive the place their considerations, fears, or questions could also be emanating from by way of the medical data they’re consuming on-line, and work with them to determine whether or not the knowledge is sound and coming from a good supply is a big benefit,” Balzora defined.
Social media may also assist healthcare professionals “create and shuttle of us to content material that’s scientific, dependable, and patient-centered,” Balzora mentioned.
Having knowledgeable social media presence has allowed Balzora to community with friends, which has led to “many great alternatives to attach with folks nationally and even internationally, because of the methods by which social media expands our world. This has resulted in sponsorship alternatives, mentor/mentee relationships, and scholarship,” she mentioned.
It has additionally been a manner for her to seek out colleagues with related pursuits, which definitely “humanizes the particular person on the opposite facet of the display. Having the possibility to then meet in particular person when the chance presents itself, be it a nationwide assembly or in any other case, is icing on the cake.”
Balzora’s recommendation to first timers? “It will possibly appear overwhelming, so it is high quality to be a voyeur at first. See what social media platform works greatest for you and discover.”
Know What You Need From Social Media, and Proceed Cautiously
Mohammad Bilal, MD (@BilalMohammadMD), an endoscopist and gastroenterologist on the Minneapolis VA Medical Middle in Minnesota, can be a proponent of social media in drugs. His current articles on the subject embody The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media: A Guide For Gastroenterologists and The Impact of Twitter: Why Should You Get Involved, and Tips and Tricks to Get Started ― each printed in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
In an interview with Medscape Medical Information, Bilal mentioned it is necessary for physicians to first outline their objectives for utilizing social media, “which helps you to make the most of social media extra effectively.
“This might embody maintaining with medical schooling, networking with like-minded physicians, augmenting or sharing analysis, or selling their observe, or simply get concepts on how different physicians do issues,” Bilal mentioned.
Bilal mentioned his private objective with utilizing social media is medical schooling and looking for collaborations, which he does primarily by means of Twitter.
“I’ve different colleagues who wish to do affected person consciousness and engagement, and for that, Instagram or Fb is likely to be higher,” he mentioned.
Social media may also make physicians conscious of related analysis which will fly below the radar.
“Nobody can learn all of the medical journals. You may get to the massive ones ― Gastroenterology, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, Medical Gastroenterology and Hepatology ― however there’s a whole lot of mid-level journals that publish glorious science, and never all of us learn it,” he defined.
“All of those journals now have Twitter accounts or social media accounts, and so they share these articles, so I get a whole lot of up-to-date literature from these accounts,” Bilal mentioned.
He added that, like another software, social media must be used appropriately and punctiliously.
“What I at all times say in my talks on this matter is, suppose twice, write twice, take a look at it twice earlier than you tweet it out,” Bilal mentioned.
Chiang, Balzora, and Bilal report no related monetary relationships.
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. Printed on-line April 26, 2022. Abstract
For extra information, observe Medscape on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.